Why Can’t The Lakers Do This More Often?
What happened to Dallas in the 4th quarter? Why were the Lakers so effective last night? I fielded questions like these from last night and broke them down. Let’s find out the answers to these questions.
Dallas’ 4th Quarter Collapse Was Ugly
The Dallas Mavericks had a win in their hands. For three quarters, they had controlled the Nets. The offense was playing well, even with Luka Doncic not on the floor. The defense against Kevin Durant and James Harden was quite good. Dallas led by 17 early in the 3rd quarter. The game was over.
But, instead of closing the door, the Nets came back from the dead like Gandolf and said YOU SHALL NOT PASS. The Mavericks shut down in the 4th quarter, managing just 13 points. They watched as their once large lead slowly closed, and eventually, the Nets won the game.
While this will be painful for Mavericks fans, let’s break down what made this 4th quarter so bad.
Stagnant Offense
The Mavs shot just 19% (4/21) from the field in the 4th quarter. Of their 21 field goal attempts, 12 of them were 3-pointers. With Doncic out, the offense just stood around and prayed for shots to go down.
With Luka back on the floor, Dallas generated a lot of wide-open looks. Dorian-Finney Smith and Tim Hardaway both had chances to hit big 3’s down the stretch, but couldn’t convert them. Hardaway had a chance to force OT with a wide-open shot at the buzzer, but he missed.
Dallas has to be better at executing down the stretch. They are 18th in 4th quarter scoring this season, boasting a -2.5 net rating in the process. If you want to win games in the NBA, you have to be able to close things out. Dallas has not been good at this season.
Doubling KD Was A Good Idea. But…
The Mavericks wanted to let anybody but Kevin Durant beat them in the 4th quarter, which is a good idea. They sent constant double-teams, allowing the Nets to play 3-2 after KD passed it out. It’s a good idea, in theory. But Dallas’ execution of this plan wasn’t too bright.
Dallas got away with poor rotations a few times, but this play, at the most important time of the game, confused me.
Why would you let KD get the ball back? I would let any other player on the court touch the ball, other than KD. Instead, KD gets the ball down low again, scoring easily. Defense 101 with the Dallas Mavericks.
Dallas is 2-8 in their last 10 games and now under 0.500 for the season. Oof.
Boston Celtics vs LA Lakers
Similar to the first game between these two historic franchises, it was boring after halftime. While the first half featured Timelord slams and vintage Lebron James, the 2nd half was a slow and methodical beatdown.
The Lakers defense looked elite again, holding Boston to 20 points in the 3rd quarter. The Lakers Big 3 dominated and they collected a much-needed win. Let’s break this one down.
The Boston Celtics Have A Firepower Problem
The Celtics are a weird team. Their defense has kept them afloat through extensive injuries to their roster, but they desperately need to get healthy. Without Jaylen Brown on the floor, it was a struggle to watch them try and score the ball.
When Tatum exited the game, it was the Josh Richardson show, which is about as good a show as Tiger King 2, which I didn’t know about until searching up ‘The Worst TV Shows of 2021.’ You get the gist here.
Without Jaylen Brown, this offense is pretty bad. The Celtics don’t have a lot of wiggle room, so staying healthy will be integral to Boston’s success this season. However, there is one solution to this problem that I have in mind. This concept isn’t hard to follow. I’ll make it nice and slow, just for Ime Udoka and the rest of the Celtics coaching staff. *clears throat*
USE COMMON SENSE
Why aren’t Payton Pritchard and Aaron Nesmith playing? Why? Both showed promise as rookies last season and both could be useful. Both offer skills on offense that could help kickstart things for Boston. Would you rather have Pritched or Josh Richardson chucking up 3’s? Would you rather see Romeo Langford or Aaron Nesmith get minutes for their development?
And if you’re saying to yourself that those guys aren’t polished enough, I swear to god. Do you want to know how NBA players get better? If they get to play!
Instead of trotting out Josh Richardson, Romeo Langford, and Enes Freedom to try and keep you in games, why not insert some youth? Would it kill you to do that?
LA Lakers
The Los Angeles Lakers are also weird. Their ups and downs rival that of a roller coaster at Disneyland, only this time, Enes Freedom is making fun of you when you get off.
But in all seriousness, I don’t know how to judge the Lakers. One night they look great and then they look terrible. They’re incredibly inconsistent, but they did some good things in this game. I wanted to take a closer look into what they did last night to make them so effective.
Russell Westbrook’s 2nd Half Offense
When Russell Westbrook plays well, so do the Lakers. LA has tried just about everything to try and get Westbrook involved with mixed results to show for it. In the 2nd half of last night’s demolition, Westbrook was great.
Westbrook had great success getting downhill in the 2nd half. Whether it was in transition or off of a screen from AD, Westbrook was a hot knife through butter. He wasn’t settling for his usual stupid jump shots, instead, making the defense make quick decisions.
This layup proves why AD needs to play center. With Lebron driving the ball less in the half-court, Al Horford can’t leave him from outside. Grant Williams can’t help off of Anthony Davis down low because AD would easily score.
So Westbrook has a free lane to the hoop and takes advantage. If I ever see Deandre Jordan starting again, I’m going to lose it.
Westbrook finished with 16 points in the 2nd half, with a +15 plus/minus. Usually, Westbrook takes what the defense gives him. Last night, he was the one dictating what the defense could and couldn’t do. And it worked.
3rd Quarter Defense
The Lakers vaunted defense from the past two seasons hasn’t been great in 2022. With all their new pieces, they have struggled at times to stay in front of teams. That was not a problem against Boston, specifically in the 3rd quarter, where the purple and gold dominated.
This play starts with great pick-and-roll defense from Lebron & Westbrook. Boston swings the ball on the perimeter, leading to an open Jayson Tatum three.
But, Avery Bradley closes out like a mad man, forcing the miss.
Westbrook gives great resistance to Smart’s drive, leading him to be out of control. The Brow comes over and swats the shot right back at Smart.
Muah
The rotations on this play are great. After Schroder kicks the ball outside, Romeo Langford is swallowed in the lane. Josh Richardson is met with a great contest from Malik Monk, missing the shot with a dwindling shot-clock.
The Lakers were flying around the court, making life hell for the Celtics. While they don’t have a lot of great defenders, them flying around the court with energy is better than nothing.
The question that I keep coming back to is; Is this sustainable? The Lakers roster isn’t that good, but they are capable of being elite. They’ve struggled with consistency all season long with no end in sight.
This game was yet another example that the Lakers can be a great team. Now it’s just time to do this night in and night out.
Dejounte Murray’s Playmaking
One of the only reasons it’s acceptable to watch the Spurs is because of Dejounte Murray. Murray is the reason this team is mediocre at best. While not too many fans are attending Spurs games right now (28th in attendance), Murray is doing great things.
Murray has never been the #1 option on a team, but he’s getting the opportunity to do so. So far, I’ve liked what he’s been doing. His career season had another stellar performance last night, featuring seven assists. Here’s what I noticed from Murray’s improved playmaking.
Murray, a little out of control, still has the presence of mind to make this nice drop-off pass to Poeltl. It would have been nicer to hit the shot after dropping Fournier, but we’ll have to settle for this.
Another example of Murray improvising. Getting caught in the air on the baseline is a death sentence. But, Murray hangs for a moment, then fires it outside to Keldon Johnson.
It sounds easy, but not too many guards can make that play.
Murray is averaging a career-high 8.4 assists and has been a great primary ball-handler for the Spurs. He’s in a Spurs system with so much player movement that it allows him to be a better playmaker.
His ability to slither through the lane and fit a shooter/cutter is the best it’s ever been in his career. While nobody is watching the Spurs, Dejounte Murray deserves the spotlight. Give it a few years and hopefully, more people will know about Dejounte Murray.
What Are Your Thoughts From Last Night’s Games? Leave A Comment Down Below!
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